Fire-hose reel.



'No. 674,045. Patented May l4, l90l.

. J. H. SULLIVAN.

FIRE HOSE REEL.

(Application filed Apr. 21, 1900.,) Modem 2 SheetS-Sheat 1.

. Gm 117?. TOT/W 573/ 177Iii 5 11lzlllvrz Gift 644W No. 674,045.Patented May [4; 190i.

J. H. SULLIVAN.

FIRE HOSE REEL.

(Application filed Apr. 21, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L, 6117473101 ao/ m: warm PETERS 00 1 mufouwa, WASNINOTOM, 0.1:

' FFlCiEt JOHN H. SULLIVAN, OF CI-IICOPEE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS.

FIRE-HOSE REEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 674,045, dated May 14,1901. Application filed April 21, 1900. Serial No. 13,777. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN H.-SULLIVAN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Ohicopee Falls, county of Hampden, andCommonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful1mprovements in Fire-Hose Reels, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to reels for fire-hose, and particularly such reelsas are usually employed in connection with permanent standpipes withwhich modern buildings are now usually provided.

In order that suitable apparatus may be immediately available in case offire, it is usual to provide lengths of flexible hose which are leftconstantly connected with convenient branches from the permanent standpipe. Each branch is provided with a valve and the hose is reeled orcoiled conveniently near. In case of fire the valve must be openedeither before the hose is unreeled, in which case, the water flowingsuddenly into a hose which may not have been used for a long time andhaving no outlet, the hose being coiled up,is liable to burst the hose,or in case the hose has first been uncoiled and the nozzle carried tothe place where it is to be used the operator must return to the valveto open it, which is a great loss of time.

The object of my invention is to provide a suitable reel with mechanismin connection with the valve which will effect an automatic opening ofthe valve as the hose is unwound. Thus no time need be lost in returningto open the valve, and danger of bursting the hose is avoided.

The invention consists of a mechanism connected with the reel andstand-pipe whereby the operation of the reel by the act of unwinding thehose will automatically open the valve.

The hose is wound upon the reel, the center of which is located oppositethe valve-stem, and a sleeve is threaded in said reel and provided withstops to compel it to turn with the reel when brought into engagementafter a certain number of revolutions of the reel. This sleeve isprovided with engaging pins to engage the hand-wheel of the valve andturn the same when the sleeve is compelled by the stops to turn with thereel.

In order that a more complete understanding may be had of the invention,reference is had to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part ofthis specification, and in which Figure l is a side elevation of theapparatus, and Fig. 2 a sectional view taken through the center of thereel at right angles to Fig. l.

Adenotes thestand-pipe,running to various parts of the building andconnected to the water-supply, and B the branch pipe,referred to belowas the supply-pipe, provided with the valve 0, which in this case isshown as an ordinary gate-valve. To the end of the branch or supply pipeB the hoseD is attached and provided with the usual nozzle E.

As thus far described the device does not difier from that usuallyemployed.

F denotes the reel, the flanges 5 and 6 of which are fastened togetherat a distance apart sufficient to permit the hose to be wound betweenthem by the rods 7, held by screws 8. These flanges are provided withcentrally-located circular openings 9 10, large enough to allow the reelto be placed on over the valvewheel 25 and casing 26 up against ornearly against the branch pipe. The reel is held in this position bymeans of rods or bolts 11, running through sleeves l2 and fastened tothe wall G. The reel may, however, be attached to the supply-pipe orstand-pipe by suitable connections, (not shown,) and it is not essentialthat the reel be placed on over the valve-stem as long as it is locatedcentrally with the same.

Fitted to revolve freelyin the circular openings of the flanges is therevoluble barrel 13, provided with the opening 14, into which a fold ofthe hose is adapted to be placed to hold it while being wound thereon.The face 15 of the barrel 13 is provided with a circular bearing 16 forthe ring 17. A bearing on the ring 17 fits the bearing 16, and the ringis held in place to revolve thereon by the holding-ring 18, the outerperiphery of which extends over the inside of the face 15and is held inplace and as a part of the ring 17 by the screws 19. The ring forms apart of the barrel, and together they comprise the rotary reel, intowhich the sleeve 21 is threaded by means of screw-threads on the innerperiphery of the ring 17.

This sleeve 21 is externally threaded for its entire length. It isprovided with a face 22, through which the valve-stem 23 extends and towhich are fixed the valve-wheel-engaging pins 24 24. These engaging pinsextend through the openings or between the spokes of the valve-wheel 25.When the sleeve is turned in either direction, the valve is therebyopened or closed. This sleeve 21 is provided near its outer extremitywith a stop 27, and a similar stop 28 is provided on the ring 17'. Thesestops come into engagement with each other when the sleeve is drawn inby the revolution of the ring, and the sleeve is thereby turned, withthe ring, in the direction in which the stops are brought intoengagement. A flange 29, extending from the sleeve which seats directlyon the ring 17 when the sleeve is drawn in, may be used to serve insteadof the stops just described. The other end of the sleeve is providedwith a stop 30, held by a bolt or screw 31. The inner face of the ringis provided with a stop 32. These stops come into engagement with eachother when the sleeve is drawn out to its limit by the revolution of thering in a direction opposite to that necessary to compel stops 27 and 28to engage each other.

To the reel-barrel 13 is pivoted at 33 the engaging pawl 34, whichextends through the face and is made in the form of a handle 35, whichmay be used to revolve the reel-sleeve by hand. The pawl is adapted toengage notches 36, provided in the outer periphery of the ring 17, andis normally held in engagementtherewith by the spring 37. Thus it willbe seen that while the ring 17 is held to normally revolve with thesleeve the latter may be revolved without operating the valve-engagingmeans and by turning the handle 35.

The operation of the device is as follows: The hose is attached in theusual manner to the branch of the stand-pipe and is folded abouthalf-way between its ends and the fold placed in the opening 14 in thereel-barrel. The reel-barrel and threaded sleeve are adjusted withrelation to each other before the hose is wound on, so that in unwindingthe hose the stops adapted to engage in that operation, as abovedescribed, shall engage at such a point in the unwinding process andbefore the hose is entirely unwound that the f urtherturning of the reelwill open the valve. In case the valve is constructed to open by turningthe valve-wheel to the left the hose is wound on so that in theunwinding process the barrel will be turned to the left. The threadedsleeve will thus be drawn inward and the stops 27 and 28 will engagewith each other to open the valve. The stops 3O 32, operating in theother direction, will limit the movement of the sleeve, so that itcannot be uuthreaded from the ring and may also serve in casea valve isused which opens in the direction opposite to that above described. Thismay be necessitated by certain requirements of location of the reelmaking it desirable to unwind the hose in the opposite direction to thatdescribed. The hose being wound on in a direction opposite to thatrequired to open the valve in case of fire, the operator seizes thenozzle and runs with it to the location of the fire. This action unreelsthe hose and when nearly completed automatically turns on the water. Asthe hose is wound on double, it will be seen that it is quickly unreeledand the valve operated while the nozzle is being drawn toward the fire,thus assuring an automatic operation of the valve whether the hose bedragged a long distance or a comparatively short distance from thestand-pipe.

In adjusting the device and in winding the hose, as well as indisconnecting the reel from the valve, the operation of the pawl will beapparent.

The application of my invention is not limited to use with firestand-pipes or even fire apparatus. It maybe used wherever it isdesirable to automatically supply water to a hose. Neither ismyinvention limited by the precise construction shown; but

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

.1. The combination with a supply-pipe, of a valve located therein, aflexible hose-pipe connected to said supply-pipe, a rotary reel for saidhose-pipe, a valve-engaging sleeve threaded in said reel, provided withsuitable stops and slidably connected with the valvestem, whereby thevalve is operated after a certain number of revolutions of thereel,substantially as described.

2. The combination with the supply-pipe, of a valve having a rotaryvalve-stem, a rotary reel surrounding said valve, a valve-engagingsleeve surrounding said valve-stem and threaded in said reel, suitableslidable connections between said stem and sleeve and stop means adaptedto hold said sleeve to revolve with said reel, substantially asdescribed.

23. The combination with the supply-pipe, of a valve having the rotaryvalve-stem, a rotary reel mounted to revolve around said valve-stem, avalve-engaging sleeve having a threaded connection with said reel, meansfor revolving said sleeve and stem independently of said reel, aslidable connection between said stem and sleeve and means for holdingsaid stem and sleeve to revolve together, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a supply-pipe, of a valve located therein andhaving a rotary valve-stem, ahose-pipe connected to said supply-pipe, arotary reel for said hose-pipe, a sleeve surrounding said valve stem andthreaded in said reel, and having a slidable connection with saidvalve-stem, stops on said sleeve for holding said sleeve to revolve withthe reel, and means detachably connecting said reel with said valve-stemwhereby the valve may be opened or closed without operating the reel,substantially as described.

IIO

5. The combination with a supply-pipe, of a flexible hose-pipe, a valvehaving a valvestem for operating the same, a rotary reelbarrel, fixedflanges in which said barrel is mounted to revolve, and valve engagingmeans connected with said valve-stem and adapted to be operated by saidreel-barrel substantially as described, and means for disconnecting thethreaded sleeve and reel-barrel whereby the valve can be operated independently, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a supply-pipe, of a flexible hose-pipe, a valvehaving a rotary valve-stem for operating the same, a rotary reel-barrel,fixed flanges in which said barrel is mounted to revolve, avalve-engaging sleeve threaded within said barrel and connected withsaid valve-stem, and stops whereby said valve-stem is revolved by saidbarrel, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a supply-pipe, of a valve located therein, aflexible hose-pipe connected to said supply-pipe, a reel havingarevoluble barrel, of a ring having a journal bearing on said barrel, avalve engaging sleeve threaded in said ring and provided with engagingmeans connected with the valve-stem, stops provided for the sleeve, andmeans for holding the sleeve and reel-barrel together, substantially asdescribed.

8. The combination with a supply-pipe, of a valve located therein, ahose-pipe connected to said supply-pipe, a reel having stationaryflanges, a revoluble reel-barrel, a ring having a journal-bearing insaid barrel, a valve-engaging sleeve threaded in said ring and providedwith engaging pins, a valve-wheel with which said pins are adapted toengage, stops provided for the sleeve, and a spring-pawl located in thebarrel and adapted to engage the ring and hold said barrel and ringtogether and provided With a handle, whereby the barrel may be revolvedby hand, substantially as described.

Signed by me at Springfield, Massachusetts, this 13th day of April,1900.

JOHN H. SULLIVAN. Witnesses:

OTTO I. MoELRoY, O. G. NOEL.

